Bicentennial Expedition

The Lewis & Clark Bicentennial was a four-year (2003 – 2006) retracing and commemoration of the Lewis & Clark Expedition from 1803 – 1806. The Lewis & Clark Discovery Expedition of St. Charles, Missouri was the group that rebuilt the full-scale replicas of the boats that Lewis and Clark used on the original trip. The Lewis & Clark Discovery Expedition of St. Charles provided men and boats to retrace the Bicentennial all the way from Elizabeth, Pennsylvania to the Pacific Ocean and back to St. Charles, Missouri.

Our living history crew has undertaken the reenactment of this great American epic adventure. To honor and respect the original crew members and this remarkable feat of exploration made over 200 years ago, today’s Lewis & Clark crew were dedicated to accuracy. The hours of research, training, preparation and the multitude of tasks required to accomplish the reenactment resulted in a nationally-recognized and profoundly-educational expedition.

Following the Journals, the crew started up the Missouri River on May 14, exactly 200 years after Lewis and Clark. They arrived in St. Charles, Missouri two days later during the St. Charles Bicentennial Signature Event. The next four years would include journeys on the Ohio, Mississippi and Missouri Rivers, across the Great Rocky Mountains down the Columbia to the Pacific and back again. Dozens of cities and river towns were visited with a variety of re-enactments, celebrations, ceremonies and educational presentations.